The Hard Ground
by Girl Of Mischief
Summary: Amelia is falling all around the city of Gotham. She just happened to get caught by none other than the Clown Prince himself. Even though he caught her from falling, she struggles to get out of his hold. Literally. Joker/OC (Sorry for the suck-ish summary) RIP Heath Ledger


**You all know the drill. I own none of the Batman characters, nor do I own the rights to the city Gotham. All I own in this story is my own OC. Enjoy :)**

**The Hard Ground**

I turned over sleepily as I woke up under my warm covers. I looked at the digital clock on my bedside and my heart skipped a beat when I saw the time. It read quarter past eight. "Crap! I am going to be late." I said groggily to myself.

I flipped the covers off of myself and jumped out of bed, getting ready to dash to the bathroom. Thoughts came to quick for me to realize my foot had gotten caught in a sheet and I fell on my stomach.

I groaned in pain as my chest made contact with the floor. I just lay there for a second, hoping I wasn't going to throw-up from the sudden hit. My mind hazed for a second and I thought I was going to pass out, but I quickly recovered and untangled my foot. "Get going, Amelia." I scolded myself as I got up. I ran to the bathroom clumsily and shut the door behind me.

I practically tore off my pajamas with one hand as I turned the shower on with the other. I threw my clothes in the laundry hamper inside the closet. I jumped in the shower and scrubbed my hair with shampoo, thinking to myself. _I am going to get killed. Lucius promised me that if I turned up late one more time, there would be consequences. _

I huffed in desperation. _Why does being Wayne Enterprises secretary have to be such an up and early job? Can't they try to give me a break every now and then? _But of course they couldn't. Living in Gotham and all, there were too many 'accidents' to have more than one person as the secretary.

The criminals usually always go for them and they don't want more than one person in trouble. Of course I only took the job because I needed the money. Obviously I don't want to get hurt, but it is just the move I have to make.

I realized that I had been scrubbing my head the whole time and now it was pretty sore. "Great." I mumbled. I gently washed the shampoo out of my hair and stepped out into the foggy bathroom. I grabbed a towel and dried myself off. I dashed across the hall back to my bedroom. I found an off-white blouse and a pair of black skinny jeans. I paired them with dark gray combat boots.

I combed through my tangled dirty blonde hair and parted it to the side. I grabbed my white watch and slipped it on, also looking at the time. "Eight forty-eight." I said out loud, although only to myself.

I ran across the upstairs hall and down the stairs. While grabbing my jacket I opened the front door, being welcomed by the warm, moist spring air and noise of cars. I took keys out of my jacket pocket that I always kept there and locked the door. I smiled at the people passing my house and walked down the steps. I was just getting to the fourth block down from my house when I realized I had forgotten my glasses... and my phone.

I stopped and felt frantically over my pants pockets seeing if I had put my phone in one. I sighed out of relief when I felt a hard square in my back pocket. At least I had my phone. Glasses weren't necessary. _Well, actually, in Gotham they might be. _

I took my phone out and saw that I had three missed calls from Lucius. I started walking again, taking a left, across the street as I dialed him back. "Hey, Lu. Sorry. I may or may not have slept in late again. I am hurrying over right now. Don't worry. Be there soon. Bye." I hung up and shoved my cell back in my pocket. "Of course he calls me, then lets me call him back with his voice mail answering. Typical." I snorted. I looked at the time once again and saw that it was nine fourteen. My eyes widened at the time and I started running down the sidewalk. _At least I am the only person that actually wants to be the secretary, otherwise I would be absolutely fired. _

My boots made loud thumping noises as I sprinted down the sidewalk. Everybody rushed out of my way which I was thanking the lord for. I closed my eyes, out of relief for one second when I saw Wayne Enterprises in front of me. I opened them just quick enough to see a large hole in the sidewalk.

I let out a small squeak as I tried to dodge it, falling into an alleyway to my left. I had somehow tripped so that I was falling with my back towards the ground.

I let out a yell as I expected the upcoming pain. But all that I felt were two hands grip my upper arms roughly so I didn't make contact with the hard concrete. I stiffened as a man's voice spoke up. You _never _want to be in an alley with a strange man. Especially not in Gotham. "Well, hel-lo... Lucky I, uh, caught you there, hmm?" I struggled against the man's grip. He did not sound friendly, even if he just saved me from getting hurt.

His grip got tighter as he pulled me to my feet. Luckily, I jerked quickly out of his grip and turned with my fists up. I lowered them slowly seeing no one there. I lifted my head thinking I saw a shadow move behind a dumpster.

I warily stepped backwards still looking down the alley. _Where did he go?, _I thought. God, was I afraid. I took one more step until I felt a hand clad in leather cover my mouth. I felt another hand gather both my hands into a tight hold.

I let out a small scream, although not loud enough for anyone to hear because of the man's glove. "And lucky I found you." the man said. He suddenly burst into a small fit of maniacal giggles. I tried letting out another scream at his words but all that came out was a muffled cry.

I heard the man whistle and say "Come on boys. Girly here is going to be no trouble at all. She can, uh, _help_... Hurry up. Come on, come on." I looked up and saw three men pop out from behind the dumpster. My eyes widened in fear as I saw that they were all wearing dirty, clown masks. _Where do I remember this? The masks. Clowns. What is it? _

Then it came to me. I had only lived here for about two and a half weeks now, which is why I didn't remember immediately. The only person in Gotham that has 'clown' henchman is the Clown Prince himself. The Joker. I was being held hostage by _The_ Joker. Supposedly the most dangerous criminal in all of Gotham. And he could just slit my throat with no care in the world. I started to flip out at the thought of being killed by him.

I tried biting through his glove but instead my head got pulled back onto his shoulder. This way his hand was so tight over my mouth I couldn't even open it. I finally was able see his painted face out of the corner of my eye. "Ah, ah, ah." he said. "Don't fight, doll. I don't want to get you bloody before the, uh, _real _fun... even begins." I saw his head tilt up slightly, probably to look at his 'buddies'. "Let's get going, boys. Time to draw a _crrr-owd_." I saw him grin.

The men in masks walked passed me and I flinched as they brushed against my arms. "Now, I am going to let go of your mouth, but you had better not scre-am. At least, uh, not yet." the Joker said in my ear. He lifted his hand slowly and I breathed out heavily, coughing. I felt his grip loosen on my hands as well and I tried to make a break for it. "Also," he said, catching me by the hair. "Don't try to escape."

He turned and started dragging me next to him, still with a fist full of my hair in his hand. "Not the hair, not the hair." I groaned, softly. It was still sore from earlier. He just looked at me and flashed a toothy grin. "Not sorry, girly, but just co-operate." I scowled at him but it faded away quickly, turning into pure concern and fear when I heard gun shots and screams out on the street.


End file.
